In the World of the High Tech Redneck, the Graybeard is the old guy who earned his gray by making all the mistakes, and then tries to keep the young 'uns from repeating them. Silicon Graybeard is my term for an old hardware engineer; a circuit designer. Here are mental droppings from a newly retired radio engineer running from tech news to economics; from firearms to the world at large; from radio to home machine shops and making all kinds of stuff.

Monday, September 2, 2013

The Bloody History of Organized Labor

I enjoy my extra day off this week as much as anyone, but the history of the American labor movement that led to this day off is a pretty bloody history. Most of us are probably aware of the recent incitements to violence and riot, such as the problems in Wisconsin in 2011, when legislation to attempt to get control of the state budget led to confrontation in the state offices. Remember this email, sent to several State Senators by a union supporter because lawmakers were going to ask union members contribute to their benefits plan, instead of it being 100% paid for by taxpayers?

Please put your things in order because you will be
killed and your families will also be killed due to your actions in the
last 8 weeks.

Please explain to them that this is because if we get rid of you
and your families, then it will save the rights of 300,000 people, and
also be able to close the deficit that you have created. I hope you have
a good time in hell. ...

We have also built several bombs that we have placed in various
locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent. This
includes: your house, your car, the state capitol, and well, I won’t
tell you all of them because that’s just no fun…

Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and say
goodbye to your loved ones. [W]e will not wait any longer. YOU WILL
DIE!!!!

In what world is it acceptable to threaten killing someone and their family, and not expect any negative consequences for it? Only in the upside down world of labor unions. Daniel Sayani at the New American puts together a short history of union violence in this country. The first blood spilled by union activists apparently goes back to the Haymarket Square massacre in 1886, in which:

... striking union workers threw a bomb at Chicago police, killing eight
police officers and countless civilians, after being incited to their
lethal rampage by socialist Samuel Fielden (not unlike how Marty Lamb
was beaten after the crowd of unionists was inflamed to violence by
“progressive” Rep. Capuano) [Note: explanation of Rep. Capuano reference in that article on the New American - SiG]

Because of their enormous influence in the Democratic Party, unions have specifically gotten themselves exempted from laws the rest of society must follow. You probably know about the exemptions from the anti-trust laws, and extortion laws, and that they're trying to exempt themselves from Obamacare. (just one example for each of those). And, of course, you know when unions physically assault conservatives like Kenneth Gladney there never seems to be any consequences for the union thugs.

Unions are progressively more desperate because membership in non-government employee unions is down. Only government workers' unions are growing, where no true negotiation takes place because there are no parties at the table risking anything. Unions like the SEIU and the AFSCME are the beneficiaries of fat government contracts. They get more union dues which they siphon off to contribute to getting Evil Party politicians elected who will negotiate new, fat contracts with them.

I didn't mention in last night's post that the SEIU and other unions are the ones behind the minimum wage protests. Despite the rhetoric, they're not trying to make anyone's lives better except for their own. If members get some crumbs that make their life better, that's nice. For non-unionized workers, who have to pay them their higher wages, too bad. As the saying goes, FUJIGM.

2 comments:

They are also, effectively, exempted from laws against violence. I can't recall the court case (there was a story on NRO a while ago), but the federal courts have said that unions can encourage and incite violence "if related to bargaining" and suffer no consequences. Maybe the particular thug goes to jail, but the people who incited it, planned it, supported him, and who (likely) provided legal assistance all the way through, are all immune.

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Retired radio engineer, follower of Christ, RF designer, mentor. Radio ham, home shop machinist, lapidary, silversmith, roadie cyclist, learning to be a rifleman, and home defender, - a guy with too many interests to keep track of.

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